More boomers taking roommates in ‘sharing economy’
May 8, 2014, 10:57 AM | Updated: Mar 4, 2016, 5:47 am
(AP)
Experts say it will soon be more common for aging baby boomers to have roommates as they increasingly age in place.
Rachel Caraviello, vice president of Affordable Living for the Aging, said such arrangements are part of the “sharing economy” and typically pairs one house-rich but cash-poor roommate with another who has the opposite problem.
According to the ALA, cohabiters aged 50 or older with no familial or romantic relationship make up some 130,000 households across the country.
Some of these arrangements may involve one roommate helping the other with shopping, transportation, and cooking or serving as an informal caregiver, according to Rodney Harris, a housing specialist at AARP’s Public Policy Institute.